The district sessions court on Tuesday granted bail to the suspended technocrat Rajesh Rithe and irrigation contractor Nisar Khatri, arrested in the multi-crore Balganaga Dam project scam, following the failure of the Anti-Corruption Bureau to file a chargesheet against them.
Additional sessions court judge V.V. Bambarde also asked the investigating officer Sunil Kalgutkar, to explain within 14 days as to why action should not be taken against him for failing to file the chargesheet against accused Rithe and Khatri.
The Thane unit of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested the duo in August over an alleged scam in the construction of Balganaga dam in Raigad district, which has cost over Rs 92 crore to tax payers.
The court granted the accused bail on the condition they furnish a bond of Rs 25,000 each and a surety by two persons for each of the accused.
Public prosecutor Sanjay Londhe and Mr Kalgutkar later submitted a report to the judge that the investigation of the multi-crore scam is going on and they need time to file a chargesheet in the case.
According to ACB officers, there are a lot more people involved in the scam and it’s necessary to collect evidence against them and arrest them.
“We still need more time to investigate the scam as other people involvement in it,” an ACB officer told The Asian Age. “There are so many involved in the scam and we need time to collect evidence against them as well as file chargesheet,” the officer, who did not want to be named, added.
